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The Guide to Working Overnight
Overnight is a shift that the majority of people do not want to work, especially when you are in college. It takes all your plans for the night away and sleep throughout the day. Not to mention that it is the slowest period of business due to the fact that everyone is sleeping at that time. But sometimes you get stuck doing a couple of these graveyard shifts, and there is no way out of it. If you are about to start these shifts I'll give you a guide on how to survive these shifts and maximize everything you can do. Preparation So there is a few things to know before working a graveyard shift. The very first thing you have to do is get a good amount of rest before going to work. Let's say your shift starts at 11, you should try to take a nap around 6 or 7 so that way you get 3-4 hours of sleep. If you are not well rested, you will be dying inside during your whole shift. So make sure you get enough rest to survive your shift. The next thing you need to know in order to survive overnight is to make sure your phone is fully charged. Majority of the time there is not much to do during your shift, so going on your phone to watch a movie or listening to music is the go-to solution to make it through the night. Finally, at the end of your shift make sure you drink some coffee and have someone to talk to on your way home. This is very important because you will be very exhausted at the end of your shift and there will be a strong possibility that you will fall asleep on the wheel. So make sure you avoid that by drinking some coffee beforehand and also having someone to talk to on the car ride home. Talking to someone on the way home helps with your body and brain being active. If your car is quiet throughout the ride home, you'll start to lose focus and feel drowsy, so be sure to have someone to talk to. Benefits of Overnight Though the graveyard shift is total dumpster fire, but there are a few benefits to the shift. First, there is more pay that comes with working the graveyard shift. This is because since it's such a hard shift to get workers for, the people that are willing work these shifts get a little more compensation. Not only that, but it is the most relaxing shift to work. Since there is little business throughout the middle of the night, it gives you the freedom to go on your phone or just get everything you need to get done within an hour. Overnight maybe the worst shift to work but these two benefits almost make up for it. Do You Become A Zombie? So overnight shift is very difficult to get through. First and foremost third shift is slower than a fight between a sloth and a snail, but that's not the only thing you need to know about this shift. The workers around you are different than workers in the daytime. In my prior experience of working overnight, I've noticed that the workers are very drained and zombie-like. This is probably due to the overnight shift taking a toll on their body. You'll see that you'll be more anti-social and a bit awkward when it comes to conversations if you work overnights consistently. In order to prevent that you have be proactive socially whenever you are awake, whether it's hanging out with friends or playing a video game online and having a headset on. Overnight is especially the worst shift because of the lack of customer interaction, this causes you to be secluded into your own thoughts and think too much about irrelevant things. I remember while I was working overnights I started to believe that I could get waves even though I do not have course hair. This happened because I had too much free time on my hands while also not being comfortable at the position. When you start working these graveyard shifts, be sure to be active while you are awake because this shift could affect your social life. Music is the Cure The graveyard shift is very hard to maintain focus and even consciousness throughout the whole shift. There is too much thinking and focusing on trying to stay awake that it drains your energy. This is the reason why you need find some quality entertainment for yourself. The most beneficial entertainment is having music. That right there will save you during the last few hours of your shift. You could always do movies, but prior experience proves that movies are more likely to make you fall asleep. Music is great for overnight because it takes the focus off the shift and puts it towards the song. It makes the time go by much faster, especially if an album comes out on your shift. I remember one time 3 albums came out during my overnight shift, and listening to all of them made the time go by faster. Music the best solution to staying up the entire graveyard shift, just make sure to take your headphones off when customers are around. Body Adjustment When you start your overnight shifts, your body will have to go through adjusting to those time frames. For me it was a struggle for my body to function normally for about two weeks when I started. First day doing that shift, the body will go into overdrive in order to function. When you get off your shift and get some rest, your body will not be used to resting throughout the whole morning. In my personal experience, it was difficult to use the bathroom for a few weeks due to the fact the my body could not get on a set pattern. Other things that could happen is that you lack motivation to do anything, you feel weak in your muscles, and your body aches. The one thing I can tell you to try to prevent serious body adjustment is to drink plenty of water. One of the reasons that my pattern was so irregular was the fact that I did not drink much water. The body feels better when you have enough fluid in it. Also, be proactive when you are awake. Do not get into the habit of being a couch potato because that will effect you immensely.